Cochlear implant experiences, special education, general tips, and product news. A parent's perspective raising a child with special needs.

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Determining the Right Magnet Strength for My Cochlear Implant Headpiece

By Eric Sherman

Finding
the correct magnet strength for each person is different. Our son is
bilaterally implanted, very active, and it always seems his headpieces
are coming off when he is playing. We started using just two magnets
that came in the universal headpiece, but that didn’t seem to work on
one side of his head. We added one more magnet to make it three on the
one side, and that was a mistake.

The connection point on his
head began to turn red. Our son wasn’t really complaining that much so
we left it alone. Well, over a period of time, he began to develop a
sore on his head at the connection point. The magnet strength was to
strong. This was not good. We ended up having to take the processor
off until his head healed. Not the smartest thing to do to your child,
especially during the school year.

Still having a
magnet strength issue on the one side of our son’s head, we tried
folding very small layers of paper on the bottom of the battery well of
the headpiece to move the 3 magnets away from the connection point. The
papers worked, but the magnets were still too strong and it still
caused the connection point on our son’s head to turn red and tender.

We learned that the little foam spacer that comes with the AB headpieces
(UHP and AquaMic) can be placed in between the magnets. For the
longest time, we thought the spacer just went on top of the magnets.
Our audiologist suggested we insert two magnets then the foam spacer and
add another magnet on top (see picture). This seemed to be the right
combination for our son. He had fewer problems with the magnet coming
off and it didn’t irritate his head.

When swimming
with the AB AquaMic, we place 4 magnets in both headpieces. This seems
to help keep the headpieces on better with all the jumping in and out of
the water. Using goggles and a Ci Wear shirt also helps with easy location and rapid placement if the AquaMic becomes dislodged from the head.

When
using increased magnets strengths during swimming or other sports
activities where the headpiece is prone to come off was for short
periods of time. Monitoring the connection point on the head is
important to make sure the magnet is not generating any skin
irritations. After using increased magnet strength for your activity,
definitely go back to your daily magnet strength. If the connection
site on the head is irritated, you may want to consider giving the sore
side a break from wearing the headpiece. Consider using a different
magnet strength next time.

Determining magnet strength
is a trial and error process. Don’t do what we did and a leave on
until a sore appears. A red and irritated looking site is a good
indication the magnet strength is to strong.